Took me awhile to get going today, had some stuff to take care of and my father dropped by to check on things. That and I played Skyrim WAY too late so I was half-awake most of the day.
The math rock holy grail and it was obviously influential on third generation(?) post-rock as well. I guess I was reading the Ian Williams v Thurston Moore thread and I got thinking to how long has it been since I listened to one of my favorite records of all time from one of the most impeccable alternative music scene groups? Too long. Ian Williams and Damon Che are amazing musicians who have such flawless precision with their timing. Wonderful. But yeah, American Don is one of those special records that when you listen to it you can hear the evolution of Don Caballero as musicians in the year it was released as well as have an inkling of what this record could have influenced.
I promised CubaZed that I’d get around to re-listening to one of my least favorite Sufjan records to give it a solid second chance sometime before the year ended. So why not for my log? So here we go.
I liked this one a lot more than the first listen but I still think I find Michigan and Illinois as the higher echelon of Sufjan as a lyrical songwriter (but maybe not as an arranger/composer) and it has been amazing how the man has grown as an artist. Maybe Michigan is still my favorite due to local bias, but I can hear so much emotion and have so much understanding listening to all of the songs off that record because not to sound lame but “I get it” and that resonance is something The Age of Adz does not have for me though I understand the quality on this record compositionally but it doesn’t feel like Sufjan put his heart and soul into this. The re-listen helped my perspective though.
In the vein of Unwound instrumentally with the vocal weight of bands from the early nineties such as Texas is the Reason and Boilermaker; Garden Variety is a sort of obscure gem in the nineties post-hardcore scene that creates very noisy yet heartfelt alternative rock that works really well and while I don’t like them as much as Unwound, Drive Like Jehu, or Boilermaker they are certainly up there. There is some Midwest Emo riffwork here and it’s all really good raw stuff.
Low key lo-fi indie rock from 1997 that combines the weird sensibilities of Ween and Unrest in a sense for whimsy. There is use of kazoo and other stuff in-between the indie rock here presented on the record. This used to be my favorite indie rock album, actually, and Pardon My French has a bit of a nostalgic trip to like six years ago and I still really enjoy this one and the albums before and after it. The mood is slow and quiet, but that is why I think I really like it. It sort of stands out in the indie rock of it's day and that's a very good thing.
Japanese hip-hop duo who lyrically (from the research I’ve done) have a taste for cynical social commentary dripping in snark and probably one of the biggest surprises of 2014 for me even if I’m not quite in love with it as a record. Jpop-esque electropop backing to what sounds to me a very capable MC in Itsuka. But yeah, as my night winds down I’m enjoying this—might bump it up another rating scale. Leading single off this one is "イイナヅケブルー"
Probably The Get-Up Kids weakest record for me, even considering 2011’s These Are Rules. The group just works better as a high energy pop-rock (with or without their Midwest emo influences) outfit than it does with what’s going on in this record. I keep coming back to it and it keeps leaving me neutral each time with a thought that goes “Well this is okay, I guess”.
Early Clutch, pretty raw and less focused than their later albums that I tend to listen to more. I don’t spin this one often but sometimes shuffle or my mood demands it. Though I tend to prefer other records by Clutch this one does have a bit going for it—riffwork, energy; though I do think it is a pretty uneven effort.
I tend to prefer Deerhoof’s middle period, but this is my third or fourth listen to this one and I think it really is gaining traction with me, which is weird because for the fanbase it is considered maybe their third weakest album (or at least one of their more “contemporary” though I don’t really see it). I’ve liked Deerhoof since I found them through I think a music video on a now defunct internet music video channel—it was either that or a friend’s link. Deerhoof was a jumping off point toward weirder indie rock-esque stuff for me as I had yet to listen to Ween back when I first listened to them nor had I discovered Xiu Xiu and so forth yet either. But yeah, I do like this one quite a bit and reminds me to listen to the band more often.
Japan lost a talent in Nujabes and you can see it on his work; no matter which choice you pick you can hear his knack for production that only got progressive better as his career went on. He had a good sense of mood and tone as he created his own brand of jazz-hop productions that borrowed from cool jazz, trip-hop, and so forth. I think would have only gotten better as he got older but unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be as with many musicians who were cut off before his time. I’ve liked this one a long time and I think it was either this or Metaphorical Music that made me interested into jazz-based hip-hop in general so there’s that.
Dead Soul Tribe is a rare spin for me, following the tradition of the alternative metal scene in the nineties (Tool, Quicksand, Helmet) and keeping the wheel spinning. They add a few progressive metal nods here and there but it’s overall pretty direct riff-oriented rock music. Personally I think this is one of their weakest records (shuffle is really failing me tonight) as I tend to prefer 2004’s The January Tree a lot more. But if you like the sort of Tool-inspired set you could do a lot worse than this album.
For some reason as the night teeters on I feel in the mood for Hourglass, a progressive metal band that takes cues from Vanden Plas and Dream Theater. This record is a damn good one I’ve been going back to for years since its release in 2009. Lyrically focusing on aspects of emotional turmoil, life commentary, etc. they do it pretty well and for me it doesn’t feel hokey. ”No Chance” is one of my favorite songs on the record and I think it’s mostly for the emotional resonance of the cycle of abuse that leads into a story about change as well as redemption through the following songs. It feels corny talking about it like that, though, now that I read it. But there’s great songs all throughout the record lyrically...
“In a boat with just one oar, another person they’d ignore, the tide pulls me in but to what avail?” – Faces
One of my favorite electropop kind of things. It's fairly lush with pretty cool textures under the guise of pop and I think I've gotten some people into this record on a few occasions, anyway I really like this yet I feel like I should feel it is pretty standard. I don't know, I like Chvrches for similar reasons though they are a bit different than Ladytron. Though there are at times Shoegazey/Dream Pop-esque influences (in the guitars and lush textures I guess) going on with this record so there is that.
The evolution of Death Cab continues and I'm not sure where they are going to go after this or Codes & Keys since Chris Walla decided he wanted to pursue artistic involvements elsewhere. I'm one of the few fans of the band who think they have always been progressing in one way or the other in regards to their sound and my favorite isn't even their most "indie rock" (Songs About Airplanes, We Can Play These Songs With Chords, etc) but when they began to progress beyond that (Plans, The Photo Album, Narrow Stairs). But Narrow Stairs tends to have this sort of "overlong" feel to it at times but I don't feel weighted down by it, it's all very interesting for me and it's maybe my third or fourth favorite record by Gibbard and the gang.
"Whenever a great band dissolves out of nowhere, there must always come a infatuated fan to carry the torch., the idea of repeating what was done before you with little progression is a thing that is not uncommon in rock music’s history. Bands like Interpol, Where's Moo and countless others are called such things when it comes to continuing where the band that influenced them started. But what separates such flattering repetition and truly carrying the torch? This thought comes to mind often and we go back and listen to the dreamy, liquid and mesmerizing standard that was My Bloody Valentine. Shoegaze has hardly dispersed into nothing which this review should make painfully obvious. After 1991’s Loveless , the shoegaze powerhouse disappeared from the map. Now you wonder, where can I hear another Loveless? I will give you the answer with the subject matter of this review. Fleeting Joys’ second album, Occult Radiance.
Unlike their debut, the Fleeting Joys realize there is a difference from spot on imitation (although good imitation) and carrying the torch. Occult Radiance displays a similarity so much that some people on the internet had uploaded the album on share site’s as a My Bloody Valentine’s newest record. The prank, seemingly unnoticed at first is a brilliant marketing strategy by fans of Fleeting Joys. The album displays more emotion, more wailing and more gloom-esque beauty than the debut it is following. The album opens with You Are The Darkness and displays you what could be their Only Shallow. It’s accessible, but it wails and crunches through your ears like a droning banshee, it’s screams driving you in and not letting go. It’s beautiful in every meaning of the word. Through the albums progression you can see the flow going through and soon become very aware that you are not actually listening to Loveless. The shoegaze soon transforms back down to dream pop by the time you hear All Release and Don’t Go and it is fantastic. The album strikes never a dull moment for fans of dream pop & shoegaze. This is Fleeting Joys, this is shoegaze, this is potentially the legend of My Bloody Valentine.
This record is firmly fantastic, although dropping some punches by the second half of the record to some. But I don’t think so in any regard. This isn’t noise rock, it’s not supposed to grab you by your jaws and hit your face in with a sledgehammer. Though, I would like to hear a fusion of two in eventuality. Not on this record, however. Truly, if you are a fan of shoegaze, dream pop or hell just any type of music that makes you trapped in a gaze, this is for you. I’ve listened to this record on several occasions and it has not waned at all. It is such a crime that this band is so unknown in the music community and it would be a travesty if you don’t at least listen to Occult Radiance."
See above.
My thought on Occult Radiance has not changed, it's one of my favorite shoegaze albums of all time and I've discussed it plenty of times with Silver iirc why I think it's wonderful. It is yeah, My Bloody Valentine 'part two'-esque but it does it a lot better than a lot of other nu-gaze bands that try to do the same thing. They are supposed to be working on a third album so maybe I'll have something to gush over with the next year or two...
There are two forms of twee pop – the more subtle (see: Belle and Sebastian) and the more bombastic (see: The Boy Least Likely To) but both are forms of relishing in childhood which creates cutesy indie pop that is just nice to get lost in for a little while. My favorite type of twee is those more like The Boy Least Likely To and I’m From Barcelona who use theatric bombast and soaring choirs to evoke the sound of childhood. Often time lyrically it relishes itself in quirky tone that works really well. This is one of my favorite twee records; and might be my first or second experience to the genre so there might be a childlike (lol) nostalgic feeling here. Take a listen and see if it’s your bag. But yeah, more Feist and TBLLT than B&S or Beat Happening:
"Jamie Stewart has always been this sort of artistic sort and each one of his records resonate differently with me and this one is no different. I can understand why a lot of people don’t enjoy this as its pretty abrasive from the start of the album, but when you get to it this record is staunch to the background of this sort of hostile atmosphere that drags you down with Stewart’s sense of hopelessness, frantic emotion, and anxiety—which is all something that’s been a part of Xiu Xiu for as long as I can remember. At the very least I can tell where the experiments could not resonate with other listeners, but for me everything he’s doing on this record is great, moody, sort of dark music; from the variable synths, animal screeches, noise-esque wailing, and occasional shrieking walls of noise there’s something to appreciate if you have a taste for that sort of thing."
Bauhaus and Joy Division worship in a revival context that isn't bland or contrived; Neils Children feel very natural and authentic in their approach to post-punk instrumentation and goth rock wailing. Actually one of my favorite 'non-revival revival' acts who take the sounds of old and give them a respectful spin. If you like their influences (The Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, etc.) then you should at least give this one a try.
When people describe power metal as lacking bite and being melodramatic “flower metal” this is probably one of the albums that confirms that description. The riffwork isn’t the dominant feature here but more of the melodies in the vocals and keyboards. Memories of a Dream pretty much is comprised with a lot of ballad-esque tempo as the band goes through the record to paint a pretty and light mood. It’s definitely not even in my top 20 of power metal records ever but it’s enjoyable on the rare chance I’m in the mood for it.
Maybe Michigan is still my favorite due to local bias, but I can hear so much emotion and have so much understanding listening to all of the songs off that record because not to sound lame but “I get it” and that resonance is something The Age of Adz does not have for me though I understand the quality on this record compositionally but it doesn’t feel like Sufjan put his heart and soul into this.
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